The List

I think this is by far the funniest book I’ve ever read!
It follows the story of Phoebe Henderson, a very relatable and genuine character. She was very open, funny and just great to read about. Single for a while now, she wants something new for the New Year and she starts THE LIST! 10 challenges to try out in bed…

But with whom? Her best friend gorgeous Oliver agrees to do it! The challenges were fun to follow and I loved the way Joanna described them all, very detailed and vivid. Oliver and Phoebe instantly had a real connection, even deeper when they were just friends, not just because of the sex.
Both were still seeing other people, but it was obvious that they were jealous. Him, with a different woman every now and then, mostly models and Phoebe with her boss. And then her ex Alex shows up as well.

The book was divided into small chaps for every single day, which was great and different.

This book is an awesome mixture of chick-lit and erotica, but in such a hilarious and unique way.

The way the story developed towards the end was a bit surprising and unexpected for me, but I still hoped for Oliver and Phoebe to get together. The last scene was a bit of amazement as well. But these things are also good, because they make they story more interesting and special.

Joanna is a brilliant author, her writing is hilarious, vivid, genuine and just such a pleasure to read! I’m really looking forward to more of her work!

The List, Joanna Bolouri Genre: Women’s fiction
Review from jeannie zelos book reviews
I like books that make me laugh, and when they’ve a great romance unfolding alongside a good edge of drama and sadness then its a hit for me. This sounded like it might have all of those, and it did and was!
Having said that though I did find it very slow to get my interest. Ideally I want to be hooked very quickly, to attach myself to one of the lead characters or get totally into the story, but here though I liked Phoebe it took me a while to really warm to her, to understand her. I loved her new years resolution but it was so opposite from how she’d been with her now ex I wasn’t sure how she’d get on. Once she roped long time friend Oliver in though I was hooked. He really did make the story, threw himself in to her challenges with enthusiasm. Its was easy to see what was going to happen, but of course not when things would change, or how and the complications Phoebe gets in via her boss, friends, friends of friends, and online forays made her more confused rather than less. Poor Phoebe, her journey to find herself and expand her sexual experience and knowledge just got more confusing, although the first few months seemed good for her. It was like the more she learned the more confused and lost she felt. I really enjoyed the way she and Oliver were together, and that it was so unpredictable with them both keeping to the friends with benefits scenario and seeing other people. Lots of steamy encounters in this read, and they are well written and perfect in the way the story unfolds. I laughed a lot with them – Oliver and Phoebe together had some really funny lines...I loved the way Phoebe was so excited and nervous to begin, and as time went on how she learned what was really important about sex for her, not just the experience but the shared connection with another person. My biggest disappointment wasn’t the lack of drama in the “sad” part where it all goes wrong, that was nicely strung out and perfect for me, but the ending. I got the ending I wanted, thankfully....I do love my HEA, but it was incredibly abrupt, really just a one line. A perfect line but really I’d have liked a little more Winking smile
Stars: Five, after a relatively slow star I really got into this read and its one for my keepers files. ARC supplied via author

Simply put, this has to be one of the best books that I've read in recent months. I say that, because not only was it captivating, but the characters were well-developed and set firmly in a 3D Technicolor world that immediately draws the reader in, and won't let go. As a connoisseur of great fiction, I was surprised to find myself becoming emotionally involved in this story. Being a person who doesn't cry at the the drop of a hat, I was surprised to find myself on the verge of tears, while reading a later portion of the book.

Despite being thoroughly pleased with the brilliance of this writer, I do have to say that I became annoyed with the last paragraph of this story. To be succinct, I have to say that I felt cheated out of a proper epilogue. Hopefully, there will be a sequel in the works to make up for the snafu.

Giving this one: 4.5 brilliant stars for a job well done.

What a surprisingly funny and insightful book. So many of the scenarios can be applied to every woman (well ok, maybe not EVERY woman but certainly quite a few of us)
We all like to think that any new year resolutions we make are realistic and that we WILL stick to them. This is nothing like any list you have ever heard of.

Fraught with any and all possibilities for failure our girl is seriously committed to proving she can do this. Calling on friends to help out (and strangers in a pinch) Phoebe falls into one problem after another and in the process not only makes us laugh out loud but makes personal discoveries.

Next time you decide to start the new year with your own resolutions, have a thought for Phoebe!

Well written with tongue in cheek (and other places) this book will have you laughing until you cry.

Really enjoyed this one. It reads like a cross between Bridget Jones Diary and any Sarra Manning book-- except raunchier, much raunchier-- and you know what? It totally worked. I wasn't sure as it started if it would have any depth-- or if it was just a chronicling of one woman's sexcapades but it DOES have depth, and was actually a pretty great love story-- mixed in with some hilarious moments that read LIKE REAL LIFE (hence the Sarra Manning/Bridget Jones comps:) 4 stars

The List focuses on Phoebe, a young woman who has decided that instead of making a typical New Year's Resolution - lose weight, quit smoking, exercise more - she's going to instead write a sex-themed bucket list, to be completed across the course of a single year. She does not hold back at all when it comes to making her list - there are some very adventurous items on the list, including swinging, a menage, and public sex. And the book absolutely goes there, with hilarious, depressing and erotic results - this is not for a conservative reader!

Written in a confessional diary style, The List bears some resemblence to Bridget Jones Diary (and probably many other British chick lit novels, sadly only the obvious one comes to mind right now). While it retains that blunt, raunchy tone, it's also much more sexual - as you'd expect from the focus on a sex 'to do' list.

The book is pretty funny, and doesn't take itself too seriously. I was completely entertained by Phoebe's adventures, and particularly by her mixture of horror and glee as she found that the more sex she had, the more she wanted.

I had only two small problems with the book. The more significant was in the relationship that Phoebe had with Oliver, and it's a very specific and small problem: his lack of tact at times made me cringe. I wanted a bit of wooing, and instead he's commenting on bad odours. Sigh.

The other issue was that I wanted more - not a bad thing at all! A sequel with a second to do list for the year related would make me very happy.

Just saying.

Bottom line:

The List is an entertaining look at one young woman's attempt to jumpstart her life with a very sexy New Year's resolution. I recommend it for anyone who likes comedy with their romance.

4.5 stars For fans of contemporary romance, friends-with-benefits, comedic romance